


An Unconventional Meeting

by KJ_Richardson



Category: Arrow - Fandom, Flash - Fandom, Originals, Supernatural, Vampire Diaries, teen wolf - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-15
Updated: 2016-06-15
Packaged: 2018-07-15 07:40:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7213639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KJ_Richardson/pseuds/KJ_Richardson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>...sorry to mislead but this is really not categorized into any fandom...just a relic that may or may not take short story form in the future.  </p><p>...please read and let me know your thoughts...</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Unconventional Meeting

It was an unconventional meeting, even for a ‘90’s couple. They met through a friend and immediately liked each other. He was younger than she was and even though everyone around them knew it was going to cause problems, they had the strength of their convictions to keep the fires burning.

Seven years passed more quickly than either of them ever imagined it would. They found themselves living together and she was waiting for the inevitable wedding day. He had other ideas. 

It was a sad day when she realized that he was never going to give her what she had dreamed about…marriage, a family, and all the trimmings. He realized he couldn’t pretend anymore and told her he had to move out. She agreed that they needed some space and time, but as a being of infinite love and hope, she offered that they could still spend time together. 

Her heart broke slowly and painfully when he said that he was not in love with her anymore. She had tried to blame it on his job, his friends, money problems, but she had never really believed it could be her he was tired of. But there it was, the sad news she had always hoped to avoid hearing. 

Her father had left when she was only seven. She spent the next 22 years trying to believe that it would never happen to her again. She had not realized that in all of her resistance she was drawing into her life the exact circumstances she was trying to avoid. Sometimes life is like that.

Now, alone for the first time in her life and nearing 30 she had more time than she ever wanted to think about things. Her job was not fulfilling her need to be free. Her family, as much as she loved them were not able to answer her questions about “why?” and “where?” So, she decided she needed to travel. To explore destinations unknown and maybe “find herself,” or at the very least, the answers to some of the nagging questions in her soul.

She went to California to spend some time with the “nuts & fruits.” She hoped to blend in and discover the secret to their eternal happiness. Even among the most open minded, free spirited humans she had ever encountered she felt isolated and alienated. On Venice Beach, with the setting sun casting a glow on her lovely face she realized that she might never be happy again.

She moved on up the coast to Malibu and there she found a job as a waitress in a nice restaurant on the beach. The clientele loved her and gave her good tips. She made some friends, but still she felt unsettled. Each night at sunset she would go out to the beach and watch as another day ended. She had heard that some people find music in the setting of the sun, but she only heard the hollow echo of her heart.

One night, quite by mistake, a surfer tripped over her as she sat meditating. He fell on his ass and she started to laugh. He looked up at her, a little disbelieving, and she continued to laugh at him. She had not laughed in so long that soon she was holding her stomach as the chuckles and giggles poured from deep within her. He sat up and crossed his legs in front of him, watching her and listening to her laughter as the sun set behind them.

“You know,” he said quietly to her, “I’ve heard it said that some people hear music in the sunset, but I’ve never noticed it until just now.” Her laughter ceased and she sat, slack jawed, looking at him, not sure if he was making fun. He gazed at her intently and she realized she did not know what to say. 

His life until this moment, although uneventful, had not been fulfilling. He was from a middle class home and had been living a middle class life. He found his thrill in the pounding of the surf, and the danger of the ocean. He had never even thought about what might be missing in his life, but as he watched the sun set her hair on fire he wondered how he had ever lived without her.

Several minutes passed as they sat staring at each other and the thought crossed her mind that maybe she was meant to fall in love quickly and that maybe it was going to be okay this time. Neither of them wanted to speak, fearing that they would say something ignorant that might send the other running.

“Sarah!” someone called from the restaurant. She turned and waved up to let them know she had heard and was on her way. She looked back at him, feeling like a secret of hers had just been given away. “Gavin,” he told her quietly, as if he understood her and wanted to share some of himself.

She stood and turned to return to work, looking back at him for a moment she said softly, “See you tomorrow.” He nodded, unable to do more. He watched her as she ran back to the building. He saw the door open and close behind her and felt as if a great ogre had just eaten his fair maiden. He was not sure he could wait until tomorrow.

The following day passed slowly for both of them. It was full of worries. Would the other one show? What would be said? Where could it go from here? But when the sun was touching the waves they found each other and sat down in the cooling sand. They watched as the sky darkened and then stayed to listen to the pounding surf. Eventually, they realized that whatever was said, or unsaid, was insignificant. 

Days began to move more swiftly, one melting into the next. Each night was the same, Sarah and Gavin on the beach. The first time they made love they were on the beach, and when he asked her to marry him they were there. The day they took each other as man and wife the sunset and the ever-present waves watched and cheered. She could not believe she was so blissfully fulfilled. Gavin could not believe he was so extraordinarily lucky.

It is funny how time creeps along when we are sad, alone, depressed or sick; and yet, when life is good we lose track of the years. This is what happened to Sarah and Gavin. Children were born and raised. Children moved on and had their own children. Anniversaries came and went and soon most of their life had passed. 

One morning they awoke late and looked at each other across the rumpled sheets. She was wrinkled with age, and he was bald. They smiled at each other, neither of them seeing any flaw in the other. Sometimes this is how life is. One morning they were eating oatmeal together and the next Sarah was dying. Not too many sunsets after Sarah passed away, Gavin did the same and their story ended.

Many years later, on a rocky beach in Massachusetts a young man stood watching the sun go down. He was filled with sadness because the love of his life had found someone she loved even more than she loved him. His sorrow felt so familiar that he could barely breathe. He had never felt more alone.

He noticed a lovely young woman running along the beach with a dog at her heels, and as she passed him, she smiled. The dog came toward him, barking, and the woman had to stop to call the dog. “Sarah! Come here girl!” The man squatted down to rub Sarah’s lovely fur, glancing up under his eyebrows to see if the woman would approach him. She did. 

He stood up and they looked at each other. Both of them felt inexplicably nervous and excited. “I’m sorry about that.” The woman said. “Don’t be,” the young man replied. “Are you in a hurry?” he asked her. “No, I’m just waiting for the sun to go down.” She said, putting a leash on Sarah. “Do you want to watch together?” He offered. “I’m waiting for someone.” She said politely. 

“Oh,” he said, feeling more than a little disappointed, “a boyfriend?” “No,” she said looking deeply into his eyes, “I’m not sure exactly who I’m waiting for, but I’ll know him when I find him.” “How will you know?” he asked raising an eyebrow. “I…” she faltered, looking away, “I’ll just know.” 

Unwilling to lose in love anytime soon, he made up his mind. Putting his hands deep into his pockets he nodded to the woman and said, “Nice to meet you anyway, good luck finding him.” Then he began to walk away. She stood watching him leave, feeling torn between wanting her freedom and wanting him to stay with her. He got no further than 100 yards away when suddenly Sarah bolted after him. “Sarah!” The woman yelled, but the dog paid no mind. She ran full speed into the young man and knocked him on his ass. “Oh, Sarah!” the woman yelled, running after them.

Behind them the sun continued to dip into the sea, and as the young woman came upon Sarah and her new friend she heard his laughter. Sarah was licking his face and hands, causing him to laugh with great delight. The young woman slowed and finally came to a stop beside him. She felt a sudden déjà vu as she watched the two of them together. His laughter filled the air with a music she had heard somewhere before.

He looked up at her startled expression and sat up, “What?” “You know,” she said quietly to him, “I’ve heard it said that some people hear music in the sunset, but I’ve never noticed it until just now.” “Really?” he asked, raising an eyebrow in disbelief. “Really.” She said softly, taking his hand.

Sometimes life is like that.


End file.
